Operation: Rock a Bye
by Misty Rius
Summary: As "seasoned" detectives, Team Chaotix knows what it's like to flounder a case. However, it isn't until they take a particular one in Shamar that they learn what it's like to lose a client. As if the shame isn't enough, the three soon find themselves swept up in a wave of secret societies, assassins, and name suggestions unleashed by a little surprise later found on their doorstep.
1. Prologue: A Day in Shamar

_Among the deserts of Shamar, a village stood bustling with activity, but nearly hidden among the constantly shifting sands. Mobians rushed through the streets like blood in the veins, haggles and general chatter filling every crevice._

_Here, a short ways away from the center of the town, a black and gray hyena sat in her modest home with an infant in her arms. The sunlight poured through the rather plain room from the single open window, illuminating her brown eyes ever so slightly._

_Through the doorway of the room stepped a gray Persian cat who was much shorter than the hyena, wearing a dark blue ankle-length dress. The sunlight gave her shoulder-length ink black hair a slight shimmer._

_"Congratulations, Miss Nakia." She stated, offering a small bow to the woman known as Nakia. "He's beautiful. Have you decided on a name?"_

_The hyena turned toward the cat, returning the bow with a nod. "Thank you, Hila. I haven't quite decided yet. After all, he's only a few weeks old."_

_"Oh," Hila replied, appearing confused as she straightened, "No offense to you, Miss, but most people would have chosen one by now. Perhaps you can name him after his father?"_

_"That's too cliche." Nakia almost immediately replied, turning toward the window and rocking her child as her expression became more grave. "Besides, I have something a bit more important to talk to you about right now. Please, come closer."_

_Confused, the younger girl stepped further into the room, stopping when she reached the side of her mistress._

_"Hila," the hyena began, "I trust you're familiar with the Order of the Oasis?"_

_The cat nodded quickly, the single adorned eye that symbolized the infamous secret society popping into her mind._

_Upon seeing the nod, the woman continued. "I don't know if you're aware of this, but I have some rather..._negative_ ties with them. I know their purpose, and many of their secrets."_

_She turned to the cat girl solemnly. "They are evil, and though I cannot tell you just yet of this purpose, I can say with confidence they'll do anything to achieve their goal, including commit murder. They know that I know this, and I'm wary that they're going to try to end my life in an attempt to silence me."_

_Hila appeared stunned. "Miss...Miss Nakia..."_

_"If I am to die, then you must pass him on to someone else." Nakia lightly bounced the baby boy on her knee as she continued without hesitance. "To whom, I have no idea, but it cannot be my husband, because he'll be the next target if I'm killed. No, they have to be as little related to us as possible while still able to earn our trust. I'm not sure who that will be, but when the time comes I must pass him on to them. For this, you must trust me. Do you understand?"_

_"...No..." came the soft reply, "Please, Miss, don't talk like that. You'll be fine."_

_"It's the truth, young Hila." The hyena countered. "I must face reality. Besides," she smiled, "I _did_ say _if."

_"I-If...right..." the cat uttered softly, trying to use that to convince herself that everything would be okay. "Okay. Whatever you say."_

_"Now go on," The older woman commanded lightly, "I have a rather...pressing matter that I need to attend to."_

_At this, she scrunched her nose comically as if over-exaggerating the expression of smelling something fowl._

_The girl laughed, turning and exiting to return to what she was doing previously. Of course everything would be fine. Who would have the heart to kill Miss Nakia?_

_No one. She was worrying herself over absolutely nothing. The Miss and her child were going to be fine._

_At least, that's what Hila continued to tell herself to silence the doubt lingering in her mind._


	2. A Quckly Unraveling Plan

**ONE YEAR LATER**

"...You guys get the plan?" The green crocodile standing at the head of the living room asked, earning a nod from a purple chameleon, a female hyena, and a young bee all sitting on the couch in front of him.

"Nakia," a male black-and-beige hyena standing in the corner addressed as he came forward, blue eyes filled with concern as he gently rocked the baby in his arms back and forth. "You don't need to do this. Now that these people have figured out who's been hunting you, I think that it might be too dangerous to-"

"Aali," Nakia silenced her husband. "Do not worry about me. If I die, I die, and it'll be my own fault. Besides," she gestured to the now slightly uncomfortable trio around her. "I have the highest confidence that these three will successfully capture my- what do you call him?- _assassin._"

Aali still didn't seem terribly convinced. "Please, there must be someway else to deal with this."

"Sir," the chameleon stood, "I'm afraid that there's not much more that we _can_ do. I understand that this may not be the easiest thing for you to go through, but you have to trust us if you want us to wrap up this case completely. Unless, of course, you wish to do this on your own."

The male hyena looked for any trace of a bluff. Why would the reptile honestly expect a positive response? Seeing no lie in his serious gaze, however, Aali sighed, conceding. "Fine...but what if...?"

"Oh, c'mon! Don't worry, Mr. Aali sir," the crocodile spoke up, patting the other man on the shoulder hard enough to push him forward a bit, "We'll catch 'em and make sure they end up behind bars. The Chaotix are the best you can get!"

This earned quizzical looks from the other two non-mammals in the room.

"We are?" The bee asked.

"Yes. Yes we are." The croc stated in a slightly harsher tone of voice, glaring pointedly at the child.

"Uh...okay! Whatever you say, Vector!" The bee piped in response, giving a small salute and smile.

The chameleon sighed and shook his head.

The crocodile, Vector, cleared his throat to get his team back on track. "_Anyways_, we better get movin' if we wanna tie this thing up. Let's go, boys!"

"Right!" Came the unanimous response from the other two Chaotix team members as the chameleon got to his feet and the bee took flight.

Nakia didn't stand as quickly, but displayed the same eagerness as the team. "Right."

As the three detectives made their way out the door, the hyena paused momentarly to give a reassuring squeeze and smile to her husband and turned toward the blue-clothed Persian cat who'd standing beside the couch wordlessly up until then.

One nod from the older woman, and the girl knew what to do. With an almost frightened expression, she hurried off.

This didn't go unnoticed by the chameleon, however. He watched the exchange with curiosity, not sure what was going on. Before he could ask about it, though, Vector's call came from outside.

"You guys comin' or what?"

"Miss Nakia. We have to go." The reptile beckoned from the door.

"Oh, of course. Sorry to keep you waiting." She replied simply as she exited her home.

When the team assembled in front, Vector turned to face his oldest coworker. "Finally, we're all together. Now remember, Espio: _Like glue._"

"Roger." Came the reply as the one called Espio seemed to disappear into thin air.

"Impressive..." Nakia commented, smirking.

The crocodile nodded before turning to the youngest of the group. "Ready Charmy?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Charmy Bee replied brightly, twirling once in the air.

Vector smiled, nodded, and dashed off into a small group of people a short distance away, the bee following close behind. Nakia set off in another direction, Espio keeping close by her side as they made their way to the market square.

So far, so good.

The hyena had a content, almost bored expression as she proceeded like she was just casually taking a trip through the market, examining stands and purchasing goods. She sighed, wondering if perhaps the Order wasn't going to move as she expected. This pulled a light string of fear through her, for it would throw a good portion of her plans off. What if these people were to die with her? What would she do then?

Before she could mention this, she felt a light nudge against her.

"Be on guard. We're being tailed." Came Espio's voice.

Nakia sighed, regaining confidence as she faced foward with a stony gaze. Indeed, she noticed that there was someone who seemed to be keeping closer by the duo than the rest of the crowd. She kept her attention on that wolf for quite a bit, noticing that as she slowed her pace, he slowed his. There was no longer any doubt about it.

The hyena and chameleon were definitely being watched.

She jumped, however, at the sudden grunt and thump behind her. She turned just in time to see a brown fox with a scarf over the lower half of his face be thrown backwards and land on his feet, confusion clearly present in his eyes. In his right hand, he clasped the hilt of a cutlass.

"Oh now that's pathetic." Nakia taunted. "You couldn't get anything better than..." she trailed off as she heard a rapid pattering behind her, switching the basket she held to her right hand and quickly turning, catching her assailant across the face with it.

The wolf was thrown sideways, keeping a shaky balance on only one foot as he clutched the side of his face. His opponent took the imbalance as an oppurtunity to kick him in the stomach, sending him to the ground on his back.

"That is _no_ way to treat a lady!" She cried with irritation.

A yelp sounded behind her, followed by a fox falling right in front of her with a dazed expression. He quickly regained his senses, however, and got up once again, pulling back to stab.

He was halted, however, by an unseen force pushing him back into the now-recovered wolf.

Said wolf growled before ordering to apparently no one in particular, "Drive them to the side!"

"The side? The side of what?" Espio muttered, in the commotion not noticing the alleyway right beside them.

"...And _you're_ the smart one?" Nakia commented, making sure not to face him as a few more people parted from the crowd and forced the duo to the right.

"Believe it or not, yes." The chameleon couldn't help but answer, focusing the rest of his attention on repelling their attackers.

**/*|*\**

"Man, they're gettin' blitzed." Vector commented of the fight going on about ten feet away, his concern becoming increasingly evident as time went on.

After a few minutes, it got the best of him. "C'mon, Charmy, looks like it's our turn. They look like they could use back-up."

"Okey-dokey, Vector!" Charmy replied, nodding.

Just before they were able to break through the line and assist their allies, however, the head detective heard a yelp from behind him. He turned just in time to hear cries of "Let go! Hey! Stop it! Don't _make_ me sting you!"

The owner of the calls, obviously Charmy, was being pulled back despite his loud objections. He was kicking his captor in the face repeatedly, but to no effect.

_"Vector!"_

**/*|*\**

Despite their best efforts, Nakia and Espio found themselves backed into the relatively wide alleyway. At least here they'd only have to face attackers from one side, right?

Wrong.

The duo found themselves backing into another trio of Order members. Now they were very much surrounded, with six enemies forming a circle around them.

Detective and client were back-to-back now, both examining all sides as they waited for an offense.

One came very quickly, followed in rapid succession by the others. Had she been alone, Nakia probably would've been a goner. Of course, she wasn't. There was much confusion amongst several of the foes as they were kept back by...the air?

Nakia was also doing a good job of holding her own.

The wolf, obviously the leader of the pack, was probably the most frustrated. "How are you doing that?" He barked.

"Would you believe that it's my guardian angel?" She replied, smirking.

He snarled and ran forward once again, only to be kicked back once again by the "air."

No, it wasn't the air. The sand on the ground moved where it moved in too neat a pattern.

Wait...the sand! He knew what to do now.

"Guardian angel, huh?" The wolf snickered to himself. "Then they should have no problem taking on _this!_"

He bent down, taking up a handful of sand, and waited for the right moment. After a minute, he realized that only those who were trying purposefully to attack were being attended to. Hmm...

**/*|*\**

Taking on these assassins was relatively easy for Espio. They were pretty predictable, and depended too much on their weapons. There was still a problem, though: _They were resiliant._

It seemed that no matter how hard he hit, or how many opponents were taken to the ground, they just kept getting back up again, with only slightly less vigor than before. All they had to do was neutralize at least one. _One._ Was that too much to ask?

Apparently.

While effectively keeping back a ferret, he spared a glance over his shoulder.

Yep, Miss Nakia was still fighting.

This was the last thought he had before suddenly having a flurry of sand tossed into his face, a little too low to get all of it, but just enough to make him stop, spit some out, and rub his watering eyes.

"Ack!" He cried, the distraction keeping his focus away from not only the battle at hand, but from his camoflauge ability. Right in the middle of the fight, the "guardian angel" was revealed.

"...Whoa..." the ferret breathed as he tried to push himself from the ground. "Didn't see that coming."

The small mob fell silent for a short moment while their female target face-palmed.

"Just as I thought." The wolf sneered, pointing the tip of his sword dangerously close to the reptile's chest. "Just a chameleon. Angel _indeed_."

Espio, outwardly unfazed by the blade at his heart, backed away a few steps until he was at his client's side.

"What now?" Nakia asked in a tone that obviously tried to mask her worry with irritation.

The Chaotix detective made no verbal response, but glanced at the two walls on either side of them. Maybe if he could be fast enough...

The rest of the Order advanced, all with swords drawn.

"Hello!?" The hyena called.

Espio said nothing, but grabbed his client's arm and threw a small black sphere at the ground, causing it to explode in a blinding screen of smoke just as the spot that they were in was slashed at from all sides.

The ferret crawled, unarmed, out of the dustball first, several scratches fraying his own clothes. "All I wanted to do was _help!_" He shouted behind him.

**/*|*\**

"I. Said. Let. _Go!_" Vector roared at the lynx making off with his teammate.

"Not working!" Charmy cried in response, trying several times to sting the kidnapper in the face...which wasn't working either.

It didn't take too long for the crocodile to catch up with the man, nor to get Charmy out of his grasp.

"Who are you?" He demanded of the man. "What do you want?"

It was then that he heard a loud popping sound and temporarily averted his attention toward where a small cloud of smoke inflated and was just starting to disappear.

"What the..." the croc murmured. When he turned back to again face off with the lynx, however, he found with extreme annoyance that he was gone.

"Who _was_ that guy?" Charmy asked, staring at the now empty space.

"Dunno." The leader looked back to where he saw two figures climbing onto the roof of a building nearby where the smokescreen was deployed.

"But I think I might have an idea..."

**/*|*\**

On top of the building next to the alley, Espio pushed Nakia onto the roof, not helping but to inwardly commend himself on being able to pull this off seemingly without anyone noticing.

"Are you _crazy?_" Nakia shouted. "What just happened?"

"You're welcome." The chameleon replied dryly, climbing the rest of the way on top of the structure and dusting himself off. He noticed a bleeding cut on his shoulder, but payed little attention to it. Nothing fatal, so it didn't matter.

The hyena composed herself, taking a few deep breaths as she looked over at the hectic scene below. "Well, at least we've shaken them somewhat."

There was no response from behind her but a rustling and a few muffled curses.

"...What? I'm sorry, I didn't understa-" She turned, coming face-to-face with a deer, holding a sword to her neck.

She took a small second to process this and calm her frightened fury, eventually asking in a surprisingly level voice, "Where is he?"

"I kind of dropped him." Came the reply. "It was an accident, but you know. Better safe than sorry anyway."

It was then that the hyena noticed the rag laying a foot or two from his feet.

Two plus two equals chloraform.

**/*|*\**

Vector and Charmy were on their way across to the building that they were pretty sure held their teammate and client on top of it. The pursuers of those two left the alley in a state just short of frenzied, some wolf shouting orders to them.

"Huh. What's their problem?" Charmy asked.

"I dunno, but-" Vector started to say before being cut off by a sharp _oomph!_

"What? Didn't catch tha- oh _hi_, Espio!" The bee turned to face the leader only to see that the unconscious chameleon had taken a fall and landed on Vector, who had a look of annoyance and worry plastered onto his face.

"I have a bad feelin' about this..."

* * *

**Authors' Note:**** Look what the cat dragged back from the dead!**

***Ahem* Hello everybody! References aside, I guess that you're surprised that I'm still alive. Well guess who's going to be updating again! I'm sorry about the all-OC intro. I just wanted to set the mood. I hope that it doesn't deter anyone from the action ahead!**

**Thanks to my beloved sister, Author #2 (One Little Star), for supplying some very helpful bridges for this chapter especially, and sorry to all y'all who've been waiting on me to do something. I'm actually surprised with how many people subscribed to me, and if I weren't to lazy to look it up, I'd specify names, but Imma just thank 'em all collectively with specifics in the next chapter, 'kay?**

**Well...I guess that's it.**

**Disclaimer I:**** I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. If I did, SEGA would send their bounty hunter after me...again...**

**Disclaimer II:**** I do, however, own Nakia, the baby, Aali, Hila, the Order of the Oasis and the Plot Line.**

**Until next time!**


	3. Questions Left Unanswered

_Shouting..._

_There was definitely...shouting..._

_There was a light weight on his abdomen that twitched slightly every so often. _

_The shouting began to take on two distinct voices._

_His head was slightly raised, and he was laying on something relatively uncomfortable. Man, why was everything so dark? Before he could answer himself, the voices began to speak discernible words._

"...say we didn't try!"

"It's not that you didn't try, it's that you didn't try _hard enough!_"

"...Are you kidding? _Two out of three of us are out of commission!_"

"Who's fault is _that?_"

"Wh-_WHAT?_ How _dare_ you..."

It was at this point that Espio opened his eyes, slowly blinking several times in an effort to clear his lightly blurred vision. The first thing he noticed was that Charmy was sitting on top of him, looking back and forth between Vector and Aali as each one yelled at the other. The boy was bandaged in several places, and he held in his hand a damp cloth. Where did that come from?

Hila, who was standing beside the couch that the chameleon and bee laid on, took notice of the ninja's awakening and placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

"Mr. Espio, are you alright? I heard that you took quite a fall. Were you hit? Does anything feel broken?" She started asking almost immediately. "Where does it hurt?"

Espio blinked, pausing to consider for a moment before answering, "I feel fine, if only a little drowsy." He lightly pushed her hand away. "My question is: What happened? The last thing I remember is having a rag pushed to my face just behind..."

A thought suddenly struck him. _"Nakia!"_

At the outburst, both of the older occupants abruptly halted their discussion and turned toward the remaining two Chaotix.

Charmy immediately straightened, waving the rag in the air. "Oh! Vector! I forgot to tell you that Espio's awake!"

The detective in question sat up, sending his younger counterpart toppling sideways with a loud _"Hey!"_

"Nakia!" Espio repeated, looking around at the others in the room. "I-I must have been drugged or something. Where is she? Is-is she okay?"

There was silence for several moments as no one present met the chameleon's gaze. It was Charmy who finally broke the silence.

"Uh...she died." He stood and began striking a series of action-like poses. "It was all like, _Pew!_ All, like _no! Look out!_ I was like _hwah! _ And then-and then-"

"That'll do Charmy." Vector cut the sprightly bee off from his...eh..._story..._and looked up nervously at his older teammate. "Drugged, huh? So you don't know, do ya?"

An already-stunned chameleon shook his head and looked up at his leader. "He's lying, right? She didn't really...?"

Much to the disdain of the ninja, the crocodile nodded. "Stab wounds, we couldn't get her to help in time."

"_Hey! I_ tried to help!" Charmy cried out indignantly, crossing his arms. "It's not my fault that guy was a kicker!"

There was another silence before Espio, adjusting his position on the couch so that he was sitting normally, shook his head and cut it off. "Where...where is she now?"

"Coroner." Was the gruff reply that came from behind him as a uniformed wolf who he hadn't noticed before stepped over in between Vector and Aali. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Detective Adel," the officer stuck out his hand, "And I have a few things to ask you. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Of course." The chameleon replied, a bit annoyed at the last question, shaking the man's hand. "Ask away, sir."

_I can handle it._

Adel proceeded to question the Chaotix detective on the events of that day. Over the course of the interview, it was revealed that, after the ninja was unconscious, Charmy attempted to make a move against Nakia's assailant, but instead ended up injured and knocked out of the air at his hands. The rag he'd been holding the entire time was probably on his forehead at one point. Furthermore, the female hyena hadn't been stabbed until the first call of an officer sounded. Strangely, according to the detective, the only offender apparently present when authorities arrived was the deer that stabbed her.

"But that's impossible." Espio commented at this. "There was an entire small crowd of them, possibly more. That's what we were doing up on that building in the first place. _Escaping. _If you arrived as quickly as you say you did, you _must_ have seen at least _some _of them."

"Yes, you and your coworkers all say the same thing. However, contrary to your claim, we saw no one but you three, the victim, and the alleged murderer. No one else who was asked saw them at all. Nor did anyone know how you two and the perpetrator got up there." The officer responded with an air of authority.

"So...?" Charmy piped up. "Who 'ya gonna believe? We were _there!_" The young bee took flight at the last statement, gesturing broadly and throwing the rag into the air for effect.

"I have no doubt." Adel replied, taking down notes on a large pad. "But the problem I'm having is that you're the only three witnesses who can testify to that, and trust me, many more were and are being questioned. What I need to know is: How can an entire marketplace crowd miss something as severe as an armed blitz attack? Closely followed by a chameleon and a hyena scaling the side of a building to the _top_ in a puff of smoke?" At this, the wolf tapped the tip of the pen against the pad and looked up at Espio and Charmy, raising an expectant eyebrow.

For the third time that hour, the room was silent. "Uh..." Charmy started.

"We don't..." Espio partially continued.

"We dunno." Vector finally completed the thought, looking toward the back of the officer's head. "Unless they all _lied_ to ya." The tone with which he said this was all too serious.

"...How likely." Adel commented sarcastically, closing the pad and nodding. "Well, that's all I have for you, Chaotix. I already have any information needed should I have to contact you, and I have my own information should you need to contact me." He faced the lead crocodile, handed him a slip of paper, and nodded. "Mr. Vector," he nodded toward the rest of the occupants, "Ms. Hila, Mr. Espio, Charmy." Finally, he turned to Aali and patted his shoulder twice. "I'm very sorry for your loss, sir." He stated sympathetically before striding out of the house.

"...Where's my 'Mister'?" The bee asked, crossing his arms and pouting.

"So..." Vector started, turning to the widow. "I guess that means we're fired?"

The hyena said nothing, but nodded, whimpered, and turned away, leaving the room quickly. Taking this as her cue, Hila bowed and smiled sadly.

"I know that you did your best. All of you, and I thank you." She turned and, just before leaving after Aali, stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "I still have the utmost faith in every single one of you." With that, she left hurriedly.

A few moments after they left, Espio stood, stumbling a bit before completely straightening and crossing his arms, facing downward. "Do we have a way home?" He asked simply.

**/*|*\**

Just outside the town that evening, in a patch of empty desert, a blue biplane landed while throwing fits of sand onto the three Mobians awaiting its arrival. From the front cockpit, a twin-tailed orange fox looking no more than eight or ten years old waved, smiling brightly. "Hey guys! Long time no see!" He called.

"'Sup, Tails?" Charmy answered only slightly less buoyantly as he shook off the sand in midair.

"How'd the big case go?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! I'm still here! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. Play stuff, as usual.**

**Anyway, I have a very important question to ask: Is anyone actually reading this? This story has gotten literally _no _reader responses since I started it seven months and four days ago. I'm puzzled as to why it's the only story in my lineup that has no reviews, as I was actually really excited about starting it. My traffic stats for it are disappointing as well. Please, if you have any suggestions to make it more readable, or if there's something that Le Stupid Me isn't seeing that's sinking it, _PLEASE_ don't hesitate to tell me. I can take criticism.**

***sigh* Well, thanks to Fallen Grey Ashes (formerly One Little Star) for editing.**

**Please, use that nifty little box down there to help me make this story the best that it can be. But don't use it to burn me down.**

**Thanks!**


	4. A New Addition

"But _Vector!_ I don't _wanna _go to bed!" Charmy whined.

It'd been approximately an hour since the three members of Team Chaotix finally arrived home from their disastrous international case. Presently, the two older detectives were looking with clear irritation at their younger cohort. Vector and Espio, for obvious reasons, were eager to put the day out of its misery with a majorly-needed dose of non-drug-induced sleep.

However, it appeared that Charmy had different plans, and after years of working with him, the other two knew full well that while the hyperactive bee was awake, no one else would be able to sleep.

"How can you possibly be this _awake?_" Espio yawned, his tail drooping to the floor for a split second before almost instantaneously straightening up again.

At this, the bee shrugged, causing the ninja to face-palm in return.

"C'mon Charmy!" Vector started, stepping in front of Espio. "Yer bein' ridiculous. It's late, and I say you go to bed!"

_"Never!"_ The youngest detective cried out in retaliation, taking off.

As he flew off, the crocodile stared after him for a few moments before turning toward his other coworker. "Ready, Espio?"

"Of course." Espio replied, nodding and dashing after the bee with their leader in tow.

In the chase that ensued, a noise began to make itself heard from the door: _knock knock knock._

Ignorant of the knock, Vector called, _"Get back here and go to bed!"_

"You can't catch me!" Charmy shot back in a sing-song tone, darting toward the main office and slamming the door shut.

The moment the door shut, a slightly louder _knock_ing sounded from the front door.

Inside the office, the bee turned a small tab on the doorknob, just in time to hear a soft _thud_ from against the door followed by a cry of _"Charmy!"_

"Don't break the door! It'll be expensive to fix!" The child taunted, sticking his tongue out.

He flew back from the door, giggling softly to himself and putting his arms behind his head, reclining in the air. Vector probably didn't remember that a spare key to the office was hidden beneath the phone after what happened last time someone was trapped. The memory made Charmy grimace a little before returning to his normal countenance. That wasn't going to happen this time.

His antenna twitched as the sound of a moving scrap of paper from the desk caught his attention, but when he looked, he saw nothing. He could have sworn that he also heard three _thuds_ from the next room, but that was probably nothing. He was more concerned with the paper, but, after several seconds of nothing happening, he disregarded it.

"Augh!" Vector raged, resting his head against the door. "I can't _believe_ that kid sometimes! Hey, Espio, any ide-huh?" When the crocodile glanced over at his teammate, he found with a bit of surprise that said teammate was no longer there. He stared at the spot where Espio had been standing with a sort of confusion, being pulled from his train of thought slightly by a sound from the front door. He looked up and around, not even able to figure the exact location of the sound before a commotion from behind the office door drew his attention away.

_"Open the door!"_ A voice that was clearly not Charmy's shouted.

Dismissing the noise heard from the front, Vector complied and opened the now-apparently-unlocked door just in time to see his coworkers chaotically darting out of the room. Espio had his arms wrapped tightly about Charmy's legs, head down to avoid a painful sting. The two were easily taken into the air as the bee loudly protested and struggled to be free.

"My team." Vector mumbled, shaking his head as he took hold of the ninja's ankles.

The action put the bee at a stalemate; the ceilings were too low to go into complete flight formation and take the leader off the ground. Realizing this, the youngest Chaotix did the next, most reasonable option: Turning and attempting to push his assailant off of him.

_"Let go!"_ He cried, using one hand to push against Espio's arms and the other against his head.

"Are you going to go to bed?" Espio replied, looking up almost smugly as the attempts to shake him were met without success.

"No!" The bee whined, landing repetitive, ineffective hits on his teammate with flailing hands.

"For the love of Chaos, Charmy!" Vector started, releasing Espio. "We just want to go to slee-"

_**BANG!**_

Almost instantaneously, all three Chaotix snapped their attention toward the front door. There was no movement for several moments as all tried to think of who or what could possibly have caused such a noise as the one that just sounded.

It was Vector who finally broke this trance approached the door, opening it gingerly.

"Hello?" He called into the darkness, looking to the left and right. He could have sworn that there was some movement in a nearby bush, but after staring at it for a bit and finding nothing, he shrugged it off as overtiredness and, seeing nothing apparent, backed up. He halted abruptly when he spared a short glance downward, double-taking and freezing in place at what- or rather, _who_- he saw there.

Seeing their leader's hesitance, Charmy and Espio exchanged glances as the former lowered the latter back to ground level. They released each other and approached the stiff crocodile.

"Vector? Hey, what's wrong?" The bee asked, flying above his left shoulder.

"You went silent." The chameleon added, standing beside him on the right.

Vector made no verbal reply, but bent down and picked up what appeared at first glance to be a bundle of beige blankets. This theory would be dismissed, however, at the sight of it moving, which is exactly what it did. Some of the moved blanket parts revealed a hyena's fuzzy face with a pair of slowly opening blue eyes.

Espio and Charmy backed up a bit and gasped, surprised.

"Is that..." Espio started.

"Whoa! A _baby!_" Charmy finished, eyes widening in excitement.

"Wonder where it came from..." Vector mumbled, lightly bouncing the small child in the crook of his arm.

As the gentle motion started, Espio noticed out of the corner of his eye that an object fell from the bundle and onto the doorstep. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a folded piece of paper. Curious, the teenage detective opened it and began reading. A few sentences in, his complexion faded to a lavender.

After several moments of this, a sudden "What's up, Espio?" broke his concentration, causing him to look up at his teammates gazing at him from the doorway.

In response, he looked back down at the paper and started reading the contents aloud.

_"Espio, Vector, Charmy,_

_"Please don't be angered by this abrupt intrusion on your lives without any form of face-to-face explanation. Don't think of me as a coward, but it simply isn't safe for anyone if I'm to remain in one place for very long. On this subject of safety I'm afraid that a very important point must me made: All of you, children included, are now in serious danger."_

_"Danger?"_ Vector and Charmy chorused in disbelief, drawing a whimper from the baby.

Espio nodded, and before he could continue reading, he was taken inside and the front door shut and locked. Once these precautions were taken, he continued.

_"I'm sorry to have to inform you like this, but I had to communicate this to you so that you'd be on your guard. The Order of the Oasis- the people behind the killing of Miss Nakia- have a purpose in mind for the child under your care. I don't know what that is, and I'm not sure if it's the best idea to tell you now of their overall purpose, especially if this letter is being read out loud_ (Espio paused at this, bearing an unamused expression before continuing),_ however I can tell you that they will hold nothing back in an attempt to achieve said purpose._

_"It may be thought that this "case" of yours ended with the mishap in Shamar. That notion is incorrect. You're still being sought after, but now you four are all targets, and the one that must be protected is the boy you've come upon who is, in fact, Miss Nakia's Child._

_"Do not let any of this deter you, though. The reason that you three have this responsibility is because Mr. Aali and I trust you. We trust in your solidness of character and, despite recent events, we trust you above all to keep him safe and healthy. We trust that you won't give up on this mission, just as you worked hard for Miss Nakia until the very end. I understand that in this way we've burdened you, but you're the only option left if we're to ensure that this child lives past infancy. We know you have the skill, especially now in your own home country, to solve this mystery and save the day. It is after all, what you do. If you wish, Vector, when this is over, I'll pay you back._

_"I'm running short on paper and time, so I'll leave off on a more positive note: I apologize one last time to have given your already stressful lives another thing to worry about, but though Aali was hesitant I- for what it's worth- did and still do believe in each and every one of you._

_With Best Wishes of Luck...Hila..."_

After finishing and folding up the letter, the chameleon added, "Oh, and there's a P.S. mentioning that he hasn't been named yet."

His teammates gawked open-jawed at him, Vector switching the direction of his gaze from baby, to chameleon, to baby again.

"So..." he finally spoke, "I guess it's up to us again, huh?"

"...Can we name him Charmy Jr.?" Charmy piped up.

"No." Espio replied flatly, handing the letter off to the leader of the group.

Vector looked over the letter once more before sighing and tossing it onto the side-table alongside the phone. He rocked the cooing baby for a moment before turning and starting up the stairs. Espio and Charmy exchanged glances, shrugged, and followed.

"Alright, boys, looks like we got a new member." The crocodile commented wearily. "May as well find 'im a place to sleep."

**/*|*\**

Outside, on the outskirts of the city of New Mobotropolis, a white Persian cat garbed in a red gi and pants with the ends tied down to his ankles lounged on a branch in a tree, every so often glancing about at the city in front of him and the forest behind him. Despite his relaxed demeanor, the cat was incredibly bored. He'd been sitting there for approximately an hour after hearing that his targets could be found around there..._somewhere._

He sighed and stood, tail curving as he prepared to finally move to a different location. He wasn't hired to sit around, after all.

He was halted, however, by the very small, very soft sound of a few leaves moving. It could have been the wind, of course, but one could never be too careful. His right ear twitched as he crouched into the foliage.

This wait served to pay off, as a shadow so barely noticeable that even his trained eye almost failed to notice it swept from the direction of the woods. No, it wasn't a shadow. It was a Mobian.

The Shadow Mobian, not seeming to take note of its watcher, continued to retreat. It appeared that the shadow effect came as a result of the black hooded cloak it wore. The reason that it was running from the woods was definitely a question to be answered, but before the white cat could pursue the issue, he noticed something even more intriguing. As it ran, the top surfaces of light blue boots similar to his own darted in and out of visibility.

_No. Was it really...?_

His suspicions were confirmed when the figure got to the street-lit sidewalk, where, under the glow of the streetlights, she pulled down her hood, revealing two gray ears on either side of a neat black braid.

_Yes, it was._ He smiled, turning and taking off in the direction from which she came. It was nice to see Hila again, as it meant that the trail was cleared for work. He must remember to thank her for her assistance.

_It's about time that things went into motion._

**Author's Note:**** Hm, this update came faster than normal. Thanks to dawndusk47 for reviewing! You're the reason this story's still going! Thanks as well to Raining Gray Ashes (formerly "One Little Star") for editing! Hopefully, more will follow suit. Especially since the plot's starting to kick in...**


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